


Two Sides of One Coin

by TheCookieAlchemist



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Blood Magic (Dragon Age), Circle of Magi, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Headcanon Warden, Inquisitor AU, Jerk to Nice Guy, Rivalry, anti-chantry, anti-templar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCookieAlchemist/pseuds/TheCookieAlchemist
Summary: Levi Malone is a spoiled noble mage who happens to be annoyingly good at magic despite his painful, annoying narcissism. Jocelyn Amell is the star apprentice of First Enchanter Irving and an exemplary mage herself. Naturally, the two hate each other.Both are on the path to great fates and great successes...but their lives will take them to some very unexpected places.
Relationships: Female Amell/Leliana (Dragon Age), Female Amell/Original Female Character, Female Hawke/Merrill (Dragon Age), Female Inquisitor/Leliana (Dragon Age), Morrigan/Male Warden (Dragon Age)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As of right now, this is set entirely at Kinloch Hold, although it will eventually branch out.   
> The Hawke here, Marielle, will eventually come into play, although I have no idea how big a role she'll have.   
> There's a lot of canon divergence here regarding both the mage origin and the origins of all three characters.

Jocelyn Amell had heard the rumors of a new apprentice coming to Kinloch Hold, but she didn’t exactly expect to meet the worst person possible. 

Levi Malone was a nobleman’s son, that she had heard from the beginning, given that he hadn’t shut up about how great his father was and how many “connections'' he had with the nobility, the Chantry, and the Templars. Unlike the other new apprentices, who came with varying degrees of apprehension and sadness, Levi came in with the demeanor of someone who owned the place. He had been in one class with Jocelyn and her friends Jowan and Rhen, a class on basic arcane techniques. Jocelyn hadn’t expected much from Levi - he had just arrived, but as it turned out, he did a borderline perfect job in the class. Still, his arcane bolt hadn’t been as powerful as hers was. They had had two more classes together that day, and despite his lack of training, Levi had been very good in all of them, with the enchanters praising his natural talent. This was enough to earn him a couple pointed glares from Jocelyn. 

“Please tell me you’re not jealous,” Rhen groaned as the three friends walked to the dining hall. 

“Of course not,” Jocelyn argued. “I’m twice the mage he is.” She was perfectly aware that she’d been obviously showing off during her classes to prove that she was the more skilled mage, however much of a “natural” Levi Malone apparently was. 

It wasn’t until Jocelyn had sat down for dinner with Jowan and Rhen that Levi approached her, knocking Jowan off of his stool and sitting across from her. 

“Hey!” Rhen exclaimed, rushing over to Jowan to help him up. “What was that for?”

“None of your business, knife-ear,” Levi said. He turned to Jocelyn, smirking. “Pleased to meet you.” 

“You know, my friend was sitting there,” Jocelyn said stiffly. 

“No one important,” Levi said. “I saw him in class. He barely qualifies as a mage. But you, on the other hand...you’re almost as good as I am, Jasmine.” 

“My name is Jocelyn,” Jocelyn said. “And I’m a better mage than you will ever be.” 

“Nice to meet you, Jeanette,” Levi said, ignoring her comment. “I’m Levi Malone. You know, we could make a great team. What do you say? Me and you, the best apprentices in the Circle? Why, I could make First Enchanter one day!” 

Jocelyn glared at him. “Not if I do first, Malone,” she said without a hint of warmth. 

“You know what I don’t get, Juliet,” Levi began. “I don’t get why a great mage like you is wasting time with these losers. I mean, a knife-ear and whoever this idiot is? You could do so much better.” 

“These ‘losers’ happen to be my friends,” Jocelyn snapped. “You, on the other hand, haven’t even bothered to learn my name. I think that the answer to who I should spend my time with is obvious.” 

Levi frowned. “Whatever, Josephine,” he said. “Don’t think I didn’t see you showing me up. I am going to be a better mage than you are if it is the last thing I do.” 

Jocelyn smiled. “You keep telling yourself that, Luke,” she said. 

“My name is Levi!” he exclaimed, getting up angrily. 

“Well,  _ my  _ name is Jocelyn,” Jocelyn said. “Maybe you’ll remember it when I show you up again.” 

Levi huffed and left their table. Jowan slowly got back into his seat. 

“Don’t listen to anything he says,” Jocelyn said to him, breaking off a piece of her honey cake and placing it on Jowan’s plate. Jowan sighed. 

“You know, you really shouldn’t have said those things to him,” Jowan said nervously.

“That guy?” Jocelyn asked. “He’s nothing but a bully. I’m not afraid of him.” 

Rhen sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that he’s going to be nothing but trouble?” he asked no one in particular. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Levi huffed as he left the dining hall and headed back to his new dormitory, snatching a honey cake from another apprentice as he went.  _ Stupid girl thinks she’s a better mage than I am. I’ll show her!  _

The boys’ dormitory was a far cry from his nice bedchamber in his father’s estate. It was cramped with bunk beds, and Levi had very little space for himself. The Circle had allowed him to keep a small chest of his personal possessions: a few books, a scarf knitted by his mother, the clockwork knight given to him by his father. They’d confiscated the Malone family dagger his father had given to him though, and Levi would be letting him know that when he wrote his next letter. 

He sat on his bed and had a thought: he’d just claim this corner for himself. Over at the other bed, he threw the two chests aside and tore the bedclothes off of both. Best show the other apprentices who was boss around here. Then he stood there, ready to mark out his territory. 

It wasn’t long before the other boys started filing in from dinner or lessons. The two boys who had been with Jocelyn had their beds in the front of the dormitory, much to Levi’s disappointment. Then the two boys whose beds Levi had messed up arrived.

“Hey new boy, what’s your problem?” one of them asked. He was a weedy boy about Levi’s age, with greasy blond hair and a face like a rat. 

“I don’t have a problem,” Levi said. “But you might. This bed is mine now.” 

“You already have a bunk,” the other boy asked. He had red hair and a round face covered in pockmarks. “Stay off of ours.” 

Levi smiled at the pockmarked boy and sent an arcane bolt right at him. He flew into a bunk bed, his robes riding up. Much to Levi’s surprise, the rat-faced boy laughed at this. 

“Good one, new boy!” he exclaimed. “I’ve never seen an arcane bolt that good.” He reached out his hand to Levi. “I’m Willard. What do you say we run together?” 

“You have got to be kidding me,” the other boy said, getting up and pulling his robes down. “Don’t you see what he just did?” 

“Of course I did!” Willard exclaimed. “The only other person that good is Amell, and she hates us. We could use a guy like this.”

Levi frowned. “Amell?” he asked. 

“Yeah, Jocelyn Amell. Prissy little thing who thinks she’s better than us,” Willard said. 

“Long black braids and a snooty look on her face,” the other boy said. 

“I’ve met her,” Levi said. “Why does she hate you?” 

“You know that friend of hers? The brown-haired one who cries a lot?” Willard asked. 

“Yeah, I do,” Levi said, remembering the boy he had knocked out of his seat earlier. 

“Well, we gave him...a little fire under his bum,” the other boy said, smiling at the memory. “Scared the piss out of him. We sure made her mad with that stunt.” 

“I don’t know why,” Willard said. “She and that Surana boy are his only friends, but they’re both way too good for trash like him.” 

“Friends, eh?” Levi asked, smiling at the two boys. “You know, I need friends too. How about the three of us run together. After all, with my father’s help, I’ll be the First Enchanter. You two will get all the benefits if you run with me.” 

Willard smiled. “Rolfe and I had a prank we were going to play on Surana,” he began. “Would you care to join us?” 

Levi smiled. “Gladly,” he said, standing up to follow the two. Willard and Rolfe weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, but Levi figured that they’d do anything he told him too. _I think I'm going to like it here._


	2. Chapter 2

“Those boys are not good enough to use magic on,” Jocelyn said, fire shining in her black eyes. “I am going to punch them.” 

Rhen sighed. “Don’t do that, Joss,” he said, eyes watering as he scratched at the rash that was all over his body. “You’ll just get in trouble.” 

Even though Rhen Surana had done nothing to provoke Levi Malone, he had found himself at the brunt of his first practical joke. Rhen suspected that it was not Levi himself, but the two boys he had taken as his friends. Willard and Rolfe had come to the Circle within a few months of each other and had quickly taken to each other - because they were not only dumb, but mean. They had been bullying the other apprentices since they had been here, and Rhen could only assume that they had teamed up with Levi for more chances to exercise their brand of bullying. 

Jocelyn was flipping through a book of healing ointments. “Hmm...” she began. “Elfroot, deep mushroom, and a concentration agent. This should make a decent salve for the rash, but it’ll take time to go away. Fortunately, all of this is available in the herbalism classroom. Shall we?” 

“Do we really want the Enchanters knowing about this?” Jowan asked. 

“No,” Rhen said. “Can I just stay here? I don’t want people seeing me like this.” It felt stupid to say, but he’d rather not see the smug looks on the faces of Levi, Willard, and Rolfe. 

He half expected Jocelyn to be angry, but she gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hands. “Alright,” she said. “I will be back with the salve as soon as I can.” She walked off, leaving Rhen and Jowan alone in the boys’ dormitory. Rhen pulled the blankets over his head, trying to ignore the painful rash and how much it itched. He heard Wynne’s words in his head, telling him that if he scratched at it, he would only make it worse. 

“Ooh, that looks painful,” a familiar voice said. “Got on the wrong end of a prank?” 

Rhen groaned. “Shut up, Anders,” he moaned, peering out at the blond mage from under his blankets. “I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Well I was going to ask you if you wanted some healing, but if you’d rather sit here and mope, I can be on my way,” he said. 

Rhen sighed, pulling the blankets down. “That would be nice,” he said. Anders got to work, his hands glowing blue as he brought them over the rash. 

“That new boy is a little shit,” Anders said. “As if we don’t have enough problems with the Templars without bullies like him.” 

“You know, if you hadn’t tried to escape three times, you wouldn’t have problems with the Templars. I’m honestly surprised that you aren’t trying to sneak out right now,” Rhen said. 

Anders looked deeply offended. “Wait until you get a little older. You’ll hate the Templars too. Besides, what’s life without a little rebellion?” 

“Easier,” Rhen said. “I already have to deal with Willard and Rolfe doing stuff like this to me without the Templars on my back.” 

Anders rolled his eyes. “So where’s Amell?” he asked. 

“Herbalism classroom,” Rhen answered. “Making a salve for this mess.” The rash hadn’t gone away, but at the very least, Anders’s healing had made it stop itching. 

“Thanks for this, Anders,” Rhen said as the older apprentice finished his work. 

“Not a problem at all,” he said. “After all, we mages have to stick together, don’t we?” 

“Which is clearly why you keep trying to escape without helping anyone,” Rhen said. 

Anders rolled his eyes. “Well you’re welcome to join me sometime,” he said. “What would you say to that, Surana? The two of us, running off and bringing the Templars off on a merry little chase?” 

“I’ll pass,” Rhen said. “I don’t have a death wish.”

“Suit yourself,” Anders said. “Maybe Amell will take the offer. Tell her I said hi, would you?” 

Rhen nodded and watched Anders saunter off. Jowan sighed. 

“Why must all of our friends be like this?” he asked. 

Rhen couldn’t help but wonder the same thing. 

____________________________________________________________________

Jocelyn did her best to calm herself. Potions and salves took care and a gentle hand, but she couldn’t help but be angry as she crushed the deep mushrooms into a powder. 

As if Willard and Rolfe weren’t trouble enough on their own, they had just  _ had  _ to make friends with the one apprentice who was worse than they were. Levi Malone had been in the Circle for all of a few minutes and they had already made two of her friends miserable. 

Fortunately, making potions always calmed her down, and by the time she had finished her potion and bottled it up for Rhen, Jocelyn was feeling a lot better. Or at the very least, less angry. She stood up, put the potion in her pocket, and headed back to the dormitories to get Rhen healed up. 

She had made it about three yards down the hall when she was stopped by the last three people that she wanted to see. Especially in an empty hallway where for once, there weren’t any Templars around. 

“Morning, Amell,” Levi Malone said. “I can’t help but notice that you missed our first lesson today. Is there a reason why the golden girl of the Circle was late?” 

“That is none of your business, Malone,” Jocelyn said, completely calmly. She prepared to walk right past them, but Willard stopped her. 

“Hey, aren’t you going to answer the boss?” he asked. 

“Yeah, it’s rude to ignore people,” Rolfe said. 

“I suppose that you two would know about being rude,” Jocelyn said, walking back. She’d find another way to the dormitories. 

This time, it was Rolfe who stopped her, grabbing her arm. 

“Answer the boss!” he ordered. 

Jocelyn glared at Rolfe as if contemplating what part of him she should set on fire, but then again, these two weren’t worth getting in trouble for. Best find another way. 

“Ser Templar, please help me!” she cried, weakly struggling to escape Rolfe’s grip. “Rolfe won’t let me go!” 

Just like that, Jocelyn saw the familiar glint of armor coming down the hall. Rolfe’s eyes widened in fear and he let Jocelyn’s arm go. The Templar in question, Ser Trent, glared at Willard and Rolfe. 

“I’ve had just about enough of you two,” he said. “Bullying an innocent girl like this. You both have dish duty for a week.” 

“But Ser___” Willard began. 

“One more word and it will be a month,” he said, interrupting the two. “Now get.” And with that, the two ran off. The Templar then turned to Levi. “As for you, I know you’re new here, so I’ll let you off with a warning this time. But I don’t want to see any more of this behavior.” 

Levi nodded and trudged off, flashing a glare at Jocelyn. Ser Trent then turned to her, his expression softening. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” Jocelyn said. “Thanks for helping me.” 

“That’s what we’re here for,” Ser Trent said, smiling. “Now you best get to your next lesson.” 

Jocelyn nodded and walked away, feeling a little dirty after what she’d done. Sure, the Templars had their uses, but she still didn’t like them. As she had heard Anders say dozens of times, they were their guards, not their friends. And however much Ser Trent smiled and said kind words to her, Jocelyn knew that he wasn’t any better than the rest of them, and that he could kill her - or worse, make her Tranquil - at any minute. 

And it was that unpleasant thought that followed Jocelyn as she walked back to the dormitories. 


End file.
